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Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero
Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, also known as in Japan, is a tokusatsu show co-produced by Major Havoc Entertainment (later renamed Steppin Stone Entertainment) and Tsuburaya Productions in the United States in 1993, running for 13 episodes. Following the footsteps of the Australian-produced Ultraman: Towards the Future, this was the second live-action Ultra Series produced outside Japan and the eleventh entry in the franchise overall. Despite being produced in America, the show was never broadcast there. Although the costume designs are vastly considered impressive, the action was quite weak compared to other installments of the Ultra Series, due to the costumes being fragile and fear by the production staff of damaging them after the hard work put into crafting them. Titled Ultraman Powered for Japanese release, the show was released on home video there on December 17, 1993, and later aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 8 to July 1, 1995. However, after this series, Tsuburaya has since focused on domestic productions. Synopsis The members of WINR (pronounced "Winner") respond when members of the alien Baltan race attack Earth, but the Baltans are only fended off when a gigantic alien, Ultraman Powered, joins with WINR member Kenichi Kai and gives him the power to metamorphose into Ultraman in times of danger. At the end of the first episode Ultraman declares that the Baltans were not completely defeated and that he will remain on Earth to continue the fight. Characters WINR *Russel Edlund *Theresa Beck *Julie Young *Rick Sanders *Kenichi Kai Ultras *Ultraman Powered: Simply called "Ultraman" in the original English version. Kaiju/Seijin *Powered Alien Baltan *Powered Kemular *Powered Red King (Male and female) *Powered Chandora *Powered Pigmon *Powered Telesdon *The Sun People *Powered Gabora *Powered Dada (A, B & C) *Powered Aboras *Powered Banila *Powered Jamila *Powered Zambolar *Powered Pestar *Powered Gomora *Powered Dorako *Psycho Baltan *Powered Zetton Staff Veteran makeup artist and Ultra Series fan Steve Wang was briefly involved with the production of the show. He and his team created a miniature suit model of Ultraman which Tsuburaya Productions approved. Music :;Opening Theme * : The Opening theme. The US version uses an instrumental version. **Lyrics: Goro Matsui **Composer: Suzuki Kisaburo **Arranger: Tatsumi Yano **Singer: Tatsuya Maeda :;Ending Themes * **Lyrics: Goro Matsui **Composition: Suzuki Kisaburo **Arrangement: Tamimi Yano **Singer: Tatsuya Maeda *'STARLIGHT FANTASY' **Lyrics: MoriYuki KoreSusumu C **Composer: YoMinoru Akihiro **Arranger: Y2 **Singer: Hitomi Sudo ウルトラマンパワード テレビ版ED Gallery Ultraman Powered title.jpg|Japanese title Logo powered.png Behind the Scenes Powered behind the scene.jpg|Scott Rogers (in his Ultraman suit) in the set. Ultraman-The-Ultimate-Hero-BTS-helmet-interior.jpg|Powered's Helmet interior. Ultraman-The-Ultimate-Hero-BTS-suits.jpg|Powered's suits, with only 13 made. Trivia *Like Ultraman: Towards the Future, Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero is one of the few Ultra Series not to have an official DVD release. *The show spawned a video game, called Ultraman Powered, released for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. *Sho Kosugi, who provides Ultraman's voice in the English version, is the father of Kane Kosugi, who plays Kenichi Kai. *This is the only time that Red King is actually red (as opposed to gold & blue). *Ultraman Powered's eyes are normally blue, but they change to red when his color timer is red. *Due to the high cost of producing the costumes, the American Producers were concerned that they would be damaged in a violent fight scene. As such, Powered has some of the weakest fight choreography in the entire Ultra Series, consisting mostly of the actors nudging each other and SFX attacks with minimal physical contact. This is one of the key downsides of this series. Category:Series Category:Shows Dubbed in Japanese Category:Productions Category:Heisei Series